Latest revision as of 19:26, 17 August 2026

💡 In simple words: Imagine giving money to help build a platform for everyone. As thanks, your reward could grow a little each year, like 5%. To pay for that, the monthly fee would also grow yearly. A study should check this stays fair.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): This Wave 2 Open Call study explores a 5% annual value increase as a long-term substitute for the bonding-curve multiplier, aiming to provide a stable, non-usurious return for donors. To fund it, the base subscription would rise about 5% yearly. The study would assess feasibility and socio-economic risks, especially affordability in developing nations.

Summary

Supporting the ecosystem
Replacing the multiplier with a 5% interest
Impact on subscriptions and the mutualist vision
Risks, side effects, and the Open Call
State of the art

Annual Value Increase (Study)

Supporting the ecosystem

The primary goal is to allow people to support the development and deployment of the WikiDeal platform and its marketplaces through donations. These funders make a donation without any guarantee of return, but with the possibility of recovering their donation in the future.

To protect this potential return from inflation, the system aims to operate primarily in stable currencies, such as the Swiss Franc (CHF).

Replacing the multiplier with a 5% interest

Early funding rounds require high bonding curve multipliers (such as x100 or x30 in Prototype 1) because the risk is very high. However, as the platform matures, the risk decreases. In Prototype 2, the multiplier is expected to drop from x30 down to x10, or even down to x1.

Ultimately, the goal is to phase out the bonding curve multiplier entirely. In its place, the only advantage or potential return for a donor would be a steady 5% annual increase on the reward. In Switzerland, a 5% rate is considered non-usurious and perfectly acceptable.

Impact on subscriptions and the mutualist vision

To fund a 5% annual increase on rewards, the monthly subscription fee must also increase by 5% annually.

For example, starting at a base of CHF 1 per month, a 5% annual increase means the subscription would reach approximately CHF 3 per month in about 22 years.

By that 15 to 25 year horizon, the vision is that WikiDeal could have a billion users (similar to Wikipedia) and a massive volume of transactions. The platform is designed in a mutualist spirit: users would be able to pay for fundamental daily services (water, transport, electricity) at their actual cost, without generating profits for shareholders or the platform itself. Compared to the high commissions charged by speculative and lucrative platforms, a model running at actual cost plus a modest 5% annual return for early donors remains extremely competitive and affordable.

Risks, side effects, and the Open Call

This mechanism is a healthy and important concept, but it is not guaranteed and must be debated. We must identify potential loopholes, flaws, and perverse side effects.

A major perverse effect to study is affordability in developing nations. If the subscription reaches CHF 3 per month, it might represent 3% of the monthly income for someone earning less than $100 a month, which could become a barrier to entry.

Because of these implications, this topic is the subject of a dedicated Wave 2 Open Call. This reflection must take place and conclude before the end of Prototype 1, so the community can decide whether and how to implement this 5% annual value increase as the multiplier drops in Prototype 2.

State of the art

Whether and how value should grow over time for early supporters touches classic research on time preference, interest and money design. The works below are explored as background for this draft Open Call.

Shane Frederick, George Loewenstein and Ted O'Donoghue (2002), Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review, Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2): doi:10.1257/002205102320161311.
David Laibson (1997), Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2): doi:10.1162/003355397555253.
Irving Fisher (1930), The Theory of Interest, Macmillan: author page on Wikipedia.
Silvio Gesell (1916), The Natural Economic Order: book page on Wikipedia · Silvio Gesell.
Bernard Lietaer (2001), The Future of Money: Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World, Century: author page on Wikipedia.

See also: Open Calls · All innovations · Economy and funding

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{KidsIntro|Maybe one day, Credits could slowly grow in value each year — a little like a savings jar. But this is not decided yet: it is one of the money questions the team still has to study while building the first prototype.}}
+{{KidsIntro|Imagine giving money to help build a platform for everyone. As thanks, your reward could grow a little each year, like 5%. To pay for that, the monthly fee would also grow yearly. A study should check this stays fair.}}
+{{ExpertIntro|This Wave 2 Open Call study explores a 5% annual value increase as a long-term substitute for the bonding-curve multiplier, aiming to provide a stable, non-usurious return for donors. To fund it, the base subscription would rise about 5% yearly. The study would assess feasibility and socio-economic risks, especially affordability in developing nations.}}
-== Annual Value Increase (open question) ==
+{{ArticleSummary|
-''Economic question — WikiDeal R&D · to be studied during Prototype 1''
+* [[#purpose|Supporting the ecosystem]]
+* [[#replacing-multiplier|Replacing the multiplier with a 5% interest]]
+* [[#subscription-impact|Impact on subscriptions and the mutualist vision]]
+* [[#open-call-risks|Risks, side effects, and the Open Call]]
+* [[#state-of-the-art|State of the art]]
+}}
+__NOTOC__
-{| class="wikitable"
+= Annual Value Increase (Study) =
-|-
-| Origin || 🟢 Théo Bondolfi
-|-
-| Status || '''Open question — not decided, not yet implemented'''
-|-
-| Scope || To be addressed during the realization of Prototype 1
-|}
-=== What is it? ===
+<span id="purpose"></span>
-One recurring question from WikiDeal funders is: ''"what do I get back?"'' One idea under discussion is that the value of subscriptions / Credits could increase slightly each year.
+== Supporting the ecosystem ==
+The primary goal is to allow people to support the development and deployment of the WikiDeal platform and its marketplaces through donations. These funders make a donation without any guarantee of return, but with the possibility of recovering their donation in the future.
-This is '''only a proposal, not a confirmed feature'''. At this stage:
+To protect this potential return from inflation, the system aims to operate primarily in stable currencies, such as the Swiss Franc (CHF).
-* We do '''not''' know '''whether''' it will be implemented at all.
+<span id="replacing-multiplier"></span>
-* We do '''not''' know the exact '''percentage''' if it were.
+== Replacing the multiplier with a 5% interest ==
-* The figure of '''5% is only a hypothetical maximum cap''' — the real value would be ''x%'', with 5% as the ceiling of the proposal.
+Early funding rounds require high bonding curve multipliers (such as x100 or x30 in Prototype 1) because the risk is very high. However, as the platform matures, the risk decreases. In Prototype 2, the multiplier is expected to drop from x30 down to x10, or even down to x1.
-It was originally imagined as an attractive mechanism, but in practice it is '''too complex to implement on Prototype 1'''. It therefore becomes one of the economic questions to be examined ''during'' the prototype's development, not a commitment made in advance.
+Ultimately, the goal is to phase out the bonding curve multiplier entirely. In its place, the only advantage or potential return for a donor would be a steady 5% annual increase on the reward. In Switzerland, a 5% rate is considered non-usurious and perfectly acceptable.
-=== If it were implemented ===
+<span id="subscription-impact"></span>
-Should the team decide to adopt it after study, the principle would be:
+== Impact on subscriptions and the mutualist vision ==
+To fund a 5% annual increase on rewards, the monthly subscription fee must also increase by 5% annually.
-* An increase in the value of subscriptions, '''calculated pro-rata from the launch of the project'''.
+For example, starting at a base of CHF 1 per month, a 5% annual increase means the subscription would reach approximately CHF 3 per month in about 22 years.
-* A '''progressive yearly increase of x%''', with '''5% as the maximum cap hypothesis''' (not a guaranteed rate).
-The aim would be a '''stable, predictable anchor''' rather than speculative volatility. It can be understood as the '''equivalent of a stablecoin''', since it would be anchored to the Swiss franc — a particularly stable reference currency.
+By that 15 to 25 year horizon, the vision is that WikiDeal could have a billion users (similar to Wikipedia) and a massive volume of transactions. The platform is designed in a mutualist spirit: users would be able to pay for fundamental daily services (water, transport, electricity) at their actual cost, without generating profits for shareholders or the platform itself. Compared to the high commissions charged by speculative and lucrative platforms, a model running at actual cost plus a modest 5% annual return for early donors remains extremely competitive and affordable.
-=== Why this framing ===
+<span id="open-call-risks"></span>
-This page intentionally avoids presenting the increase as a fixed contractual promise. It is an '''open economic question''' that will be debated and decided during Prototype 1, with the percentage and the very principle still to be confirmed.
+== Risks, side effects, and the Open Call ==
+This mechanism is a healthy and important concept, but it is not guaranteed and must be debated. We must identify potential loopholes, flaws, and perverse side effects.
+A major perverse effect to study is affordability in developing nations. If the subscription reaches CHF 3 per month, it might represent 3% of the monthly income for someone earning less than $100 a month, which could become a barrier to entry.
+Because of these implications, this topic is the subject of a dedicated Wave 2 [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Calls:Main|Open Call]]. This reflection must take place and conclude before the end of Prototype 1, so the community can decide whether and how to implement this 5% annual value increase as the multiplier drops in Prototype 2.
 ----
-'''See also:''' [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Main|All innovations]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Main|R&D Portal]]
+<span id="state-of-the-art"></span>
+== State of the art ==
+Whether and how value should grow over time for early supporters touches classic research on time preference, interest and money design. The works below are explored as background for this draft Open Call.
+* Shane Frederick, George Loewenstein and Ted O'Donoghue (2002), ''Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review'', Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2): [https://doi.org/10.1257/002205102320161311 doi:10.1257/002205102320161311].
+* David Laibson (1997), ''Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting'', Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2): [https://doi.org/10.1162/003355397555253 doi:10.1162/003355397555253].
+* Irving Fisher (1930), ''The Theory of Interest'', Macmillan: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Fisher author page on Wikipedia].
+* Silvio Gesell (1916), ''The Natural Economic Order'': [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_Economic_Order book page on Wikipedia] · [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Gesell Silvio Gesell].
+* Bernard Lietaer (2001), ''The Future of Money: Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World'', Century: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Lietaer author page on Wikipedia].
+'''See also:''' [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Calls:Main|Open Calls]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Main|All innovations]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Main|Economy and funding]]
 [[Category:Migration June 2026]]
+[[Category:Innovation]]
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